Ishbosheth and David, and where that sharp conflict took place which ended in the death of Asahcl, and led, at a later period, to the treacherous murder of Ab- ner himself. Here or at the spring were the " great waters (or the many waters, C^ST D'^''?) of Gilieon" (both here and in 1 Kings iii, 4, Josephus substitutes Hebron for Gibeon, A7if. x, 9, 5; viii, 2, 1), at which Jo- hanan, the son of Kareah, found the traitor Ishmael (Jer. xli, 12). Round this water also, according to the notice of Josephus (tTri run Tii]yij ttjc itoXhoc ovk uttu)- On', Ant. V, 1, 17), the five kings of the Amorites were encamped when Joshua burst u]wn them from Gilgal. The "wilderness of Gibeon" (2 Sam. ii, 24) — the Mid- bar, i. e. rather the waste pasture-grounds — must have been to the east, bej'ond the suburb of cultivated fields, and towards the neighboring swells, which bear the names of Jedireh and Bir Neballah. Such is the situ- ation of Gibeon, fulfilling in position every require- ment of the notices of the Bible, Josephus, Eusebius, and Jerome. Its distance from Jerusalem by the main road is as nearly as possible 6J miles ; but there is a more direct road reducing it to 5 miles (Robinson, Res. ii, 137, 138 ; Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 315 ; Thomson, Land and Book, ii, 546 ; Porter, Handh.for Syria, p. 225).
Scriptural Incidents. — Several of these are of such deep interest as to call for a detailed notice.
(1.) The name of Gibeon is most familiar to us in connection with the artifice by which its inhabitants obtained their safety at the hands of Joshua, and with the memorable battle which xiltimately resulted there- from. (See Kitto's Duily Bible Ilbist. ad loc.) This is the fii'st mention of the place in Scripture, and the battle is considered "one of the most important in the history of the world" by Stanley, whose graphic de- scription (Jewish Church, i, 266 sq.) we condense, slight- ly modified and illustrated.
The kings of Palestine, each in his little fastness, were roused hy the tidings that the approaches to their territory in the Jordan valley and in the passes leading from it were in the hands of the enemj'. Those who occujned the south felt that the crisis was yet more imminent than when they heard of the capitulation of Gibeon. Jebus or Jerusalem, even in those ancient times, was recognised as their centre. Its chief took the lead of the hostile confederacy. The point of at- tack, however, was not the invading army, but the traitors at home. Gibeon, the recreant city, was be- sieged. The continuance or the raising of the siege Ijecame the turning question of the war. Tlie sum- mons of the Gibconites to Joshua was as urgent as words can describe, and gives the key-note to the whole movement (.Josh, x, 6). Xot a moment was to be lost. On the former occasion of Joshua's visit to Gibeon (Josh, ix, 16, 17), it had been a three-days' jour- nej' from Gilgal, as according to the slow pace of east- ern armies and caravans it might well be. But now, by a forced march, "Joshua came imto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night." When the sun rose behind him, he was already in the open ground at the foot of the heights of Gibeon, where the kings were encamped (according to Josephus, Ant. v, 1, 17) Iw a spring in the neighborhood. The towering hill, at th-e foot of which Gibeon la}', rose before them on the west. The besieged and the besiegers alike were taken by surprise (in the Samaritan version of Joshua, the war- cry is given, " God is mighty in battle," ch. xx, xxi).
As often before and after, so now " not a man could stand before" the awe and panic of the sudden sound of that terrible shout. The Canaanites fled down the western pass, and "the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gib- eon, and chased them along tlie way that goeth tip to Beth-horon." "This was the first stage of the flight. It is a long, rock}' ascent, sinking and rising more than once l)efore the summit is gained. From the summit, which is crowned by the village of Upper Beth-horon,
GIBEON
851
GIBEON
Map of the "cene of Joshua's gieat Battle at Giheon and Beth horon
a wide view opens over the valley of Ajalon, which runs ill from the plain of Sharon.
"And it came to pass, as they fled before Israel, and were in the going down to lieth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon tliem unto Azekah." Tliis was the second stage of the flight. The fugitives had outstripped the pursuers; they had crossed the high ridge of Beth-horon the Upper ; thej' were in full flight to Beth-horon the Nether. It is a rcugh, rocky road, sometimes over the upturned edges of the limestone stratn, sometimes over sheets of smooth rock, sometimes over loose rectangular stones, sometimes over steps cut in the rock. It was as they fled down this slippery descent that a fearful tempest, "thunder, lightning, and a deluge of hail" (Josephus, Ant. V, 1, 17), In'oke over the disordered ranks; and " they were more which died of the hailstones than the\' whom the children of Israel slew with the sword."